You will need six tartlet tins with removable bases, about 8 cm in diameter.

Cream the butter and sugar until pale and smooth. Add the ground pistachios, mix in the egg yolk and then the flour. Add a little water if necessary to make a firm but rollable dough.

On a floured board, roll the dough into a short, fat sausage the circumference of the tartlet tins. Wrap in greaseproof paper and refrigerate for a good 20 minutes. Set the oven at 200ºC.

Cut the pastry into thin discs and place them in the tartlet cases, pushing them gently into the corners. Use greaseproof paper to line each pastry case over the pastry, fill with baking beans, then bake for 15 minutes or so, until the tartlet cases are a pale biscuit colour. Remove the paper and baking beans and return to the oven for five minutes to dry them out. Let them cool a little before removing from the tartlet cases.

Gently whip the cream until it will just about hold its shape, adding the tiniest drop of vanilla extract as you go. It should be billowy and voluptuous rather than stiff. Divide between the tartlet cases. Add the strawberries on top, together with a dusting of icing sugar or a trickle of melted dark chocolate.

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This recipe is an extract from Tender, volume II: A cook's guide to the fruit garden by Nigel Slater, $49.99. The book is a sequel to Tender, volume I: A cook and his vegetable patch, and is available at bookstores.